Cucumber Gulch

Distance: 3.4 mile exploration
Elevation: 9,800 ft
Elevation Gain: Minimal
Date Hiked: 26 July 2015
Bathroom at Trailhead: No
Dogs: On leash only (critical wildlife habitat). No dogs allowed in the center of the gulch.
Restrictions: Not open until after July 1st of each year to protect calving Moose and migratory birds.
Tags: #Breckenridge, #ColoradoHiking, #Wetland

Boardwalk and waterfall in the scenic Cucumber Gulch, Breckenridge.

Cucumber Gulch is a protected wetland located underneath the gondola in Breckenridge. There are numerous summer trails that circumnavigate the area and a couple of places that extend inwards for views of the many Beaver ponds that make the Cucumber Gulch so unique.

Winter Trail Map of the Cucumber Gulch Area. Not every trail listed exists in summer. In particular, the Beaver Meadows Trail, which crisscrosses the area in winter is wet and impassible in summer. 

The trails around Cucumber Gulch are marked by the Breckenridge Nordic Center, which is closed in summer except for special events such as weddings. You get to the Nordic Center a few miles up Ski Hill Road on the Highway 9 bypass.  The trails are marked with signs and maps at each numbered location (see map). The names of the trails are not always evident, so it might be useful to print out a map before you go.

The upper forested section near the nordic center carpeted in wildflowers. 

While there are lots of ways to follow the trails down to the wetlands, I did a major exploration of the area. From the parking lot I headed to the right until I reached signpost #4, and then took the Gold Digger Trail through the Pines blanketed in Lupine. The Gold Digger Trail loops around and eventually heads southwest (uphill).

Example of a trail sign

At signpost #23 the Willow Trail and the Gold Digger Trail converge at a interpretive site that is often manned by local graduate students studying the area. They can discuss the feeding habits of the Beaver, Moose, and Muskrat that call the wetlands home.

Walking on the Gold Digger Trail

From this spot, the Willow Trail enters the woods and becomes dark and root bound. It is easy walking however around the north side of the wetlands to signpost #29, where there is another overlook. At this point the summer route heads north on the Engleman Trail and passes under the Gondola at signpost #33. I turned around at signpost #35 and retraced my steps to signpost #18 where the Willow Trail branches off of Gold Digger Trail.

At a wetland viewpoint

From signpost #18, I traveled down to Josie's Cabin and signpost #17 for scenic view looking up the wetland itself.  From there I returned to the nordic center.

The wetlands are directly under the gondola. 

Beaver lodge

So why all the fuss? Cucumber Gulch is a fen wetland. Fen wetlands are peat forming wetlands that can take up to a 1000 years to develop. This type of rare wetland occurs when water bubbles up to the surface. The water saturated grounds support a plethora of plant life. Cucumber Gulch is also located in the center of one of the busiest ski resorts in Colorado. Home to a zoological treasure trove of wildlife, it is simply a unique yet fragile place. While other trails in Breck can be dry and warm, Cucumber Gulch is moist and shaded. If you go, say hi to the Beavers for me.

Josies' Cabin

Bull Moose...Oh MY!

As fall approaches, so does the Fireweed and the occasional Bull Moose.  This hunk of burning love (tis that time of year) was over 6 feet tall, and drew a crowd of onlookers.  In the fading light I captured a few grainy shots.  I should have run back for my tripod but like most of the other female groupies I was enraptured by his 4-foot "wing span", towering manliness, and and two-foot "bell" (the flap of skin that hangs down below the chin). While there was a younger male Moose nearby, this mature specimen was all we had eyes for.

Don't let this pastoral scene fool you.  This Bull Moose was very large indeed. While he was primarily interested in chomping down on the Fireweed covering this open meadow, it would not take much to provoke him into a charge. I was hunkered down behind some shrubs, trying to blend in with the scenery as I watched him. 

You can tell the rut is approaching, because this Moose has been scrapping the velvet off his antlers. Only used to impress the ladies, they will fall off as soon the "season" is over.  

After last summer's oddessy of stalking my first Moose, having this immensely huge animal walk right up to me (I kept having to back away) was almost too easy. Seems like the number of Moose sightings have increased this year and if this boy has anything to say about it, the population will continue to increase.

Moose

A young bull Moose (Alces alces) lounges in the shade on a hot day in Summit County

This creature, the Moose,  is one of the meanest, most unpredictable, foul-tempered beasts you are ever likely to encounter in Colorado and I descided to stalk it over several soggy days, hoping to finally bag a shot of its malevolent personality. Don't try this at home children, I had a telephoto lens!

This tale, reminiscent of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, began when several people in my condo complex gloated that they had not only seen the Moose in our neighborhood but actually had a close encounter of the scary kind in the large expanse of forest between us and I-70.  The most ignomious part of this is that it actually crossed the road right in front of our car but we couldn't see it because of the back up in traffic.  Our neighbors never let us live that one down.

So what's so scary about a Moose?  Well besides their already mentioned pleasing personality, they are big, as in really big.  Our friends were walking their two dogs in the forest when they passed a small Aspen Grove.  At once this large, ominous shape began to rise vertically out of the grasses and kept on rising.  The dogs freaked, the woman screamed, and general bladder control was threatened.  Fortunately, these startled humans and canines took appropriate action... they ran for their lives.   Another friend of a friend recently did the opposite.  She cowered in a ditch and a Moose nearly pummeled her to death.  So children, while you fight off a Bear, Mountain Lion, and that person who just took the last parking spot at Copper Mountain,  remember....run from a Moose.  They don't have a prey instinct, unlike the skier at Copper.  

So, hearing these tales I was bound and determined to find this Moose.  I set out at 7 pm one evening and started trudging off trail through Willows, clear cuts, and generally swampy areas.  I was having no luck at all until I noticed a large Aspen with monster-sized chunks of bark scrapped away.  I immediately froze in my tracks and started creeping about very carefully.  It did not take me long to find the large areas of grass that had been flattened like crop circles in the UK.  The hairs on the back of my neck rose.  Was I alone in the thick grass?  It seemed I was, so feeling rather like a voyeur, I tiptoed around the Moose's haunt, poking at scat, following trails, and generally being intrusive.  At least now I had my target zone.  Every evening I went back with no luck.  It was on my last day, and the middle of the day when at last I saw him.  I was walking the dogs of course and was totally unprepared.  I ran them quickly back home, grabbed my camera and the rest is history. 

This young Moose was easily as tall as I.  A typical Moose is 6-7 ft at the shoulder.  Note the large flap of skin called a "bell" hanging from its neck.  Along with the distinctive antlers, this is another great identifying feature.

While other parts of North America, Alaska in particular, have more Moose than they know what to do with,  they are less common in Colorado.  Introuced three decades ago, their population has been growing.  Walden is known for a large Moose population as well as the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park.  Their range is expanding, however so more and more people are finally getting a good look at this impressive animal.

The largest member of the deer family and the largest antlered animal in the world, the Moose habitually lives in cold, boreal forests eating terrestrial and aquatic vegetation, particularly Willows.  They are most often spotted in small ponds head down in the water.  The largest sub-species exist in Alaska, while the smallest in Colorado and neighboring states. 

A male's antlers are strickly a breeding enhancer.  They can grow to up to 4.5 feet across, and without their velvet, are impressive indeed.  Once the rut is over, however, off they go.  Maybe I'll find this male's set somewhere out in the Willows. 

Antlers are covered in velvet, which is rich in blood.  This helps protect and feed the antlers as they grow.  I wonder how large this set will get by the time of the rut in late September and October?

My personal odyssey at an end, I look forward to more Moose encounters...from a safe distance of course. 


Note: In 2012 a beautiful Bull Moose walked right up to (I was hiding).  Check it out!

Nova Scotia: Skyline Trail

Distance: 5.7 miles round trip
Elevation: 1,500 ft
Elevation Gain: Minimal
Critters: Moose

The end of the Skyline Trail looks out over the ocean in a series of cascading wooden steps and platforms with benches. The view opens up only the last quarter mile though.

Since we had only one day on the Cabot Trail, we knew we could only pick one hike. The Skyline Trail is the iconic trail in the Highlands National Park. It is in all the brochures, and even the park rangers were gushing. We were worried that ~6 miles round trip would take up too much of our day, but the Skyline is practically flat, so it only took us 2 hours to do.

All the pictures of this trail show the far end when the trail becomes a boardwalk over the bog. There is quite a bit of walking through the trees to get to this point, however, so be forewarned.

The first 0.5 miles of the trail is along a broad service road.

The trailhead is off the main road, but then you walk 0.5 miles up a wide service road before the real trailhead. There is a small bathroom there and a ranger standing by to educate the curious about the Moose in both English and French. As I walked by I saw the ranger hold up a jar of Moose droppings and as a women in French if she would like some chocolate. Ah! My 4 years of high school French just paid off! Now I know those things on the ground are actually chocolate left by the thoughtful Canadian Rangers. I wish our rangers were as kind to hungry hikers.

Moose (Alces alcies americana) on the narrow forested trail.

It was not long up the trail before we ran into a crowd staring that the rather large butt of a Moose sticking out of the trees. I have been wanted to capture a Coloradoan Moose for this blog for so long that I almost had an epileptic fit. Alas, I was snapping pictures so quickly, my auto focus did not have time to catch up. Then much to the delight of all present, another Moose just started walking up the trail right towards us. I am guess this was the kid of the much larger Moose whose butt we were not intimately familiar with. It took off into the woods, which was a good thing because passing a Moose, no matter how diminutive, on a narrow trail is no easy thing.

The trail also traversed small patches of mixed deciduous forest.

As I mentioned above, the Skyline trail is narrow and winds through coniferous forest before opening up to a barren area with many dead trees. The forest had been killed off and the new trees have been attracting the Moose, which have been eating the young, replacement trees, leaving the area barren. The Park Service has fenced off an area to see what would happen to the plant succession without the Moose.

I took this shot on a short social trail that exited the forest.

The trail contains patches of other trees and then low shrubs when on nears the boardwalk. 1,500 ft above the ocean, the boardwalk does contain dramatic views. There are platforms with benches all the way down to a low hill. We decided to stay on the upper platform for the most broad view. A large eddy could be seen to the left and the spouts of whales were visible to the naked eye off shore.

Reaching the boardwalk

We had hoped that the heat wave that was hitting Nova Scotia would be less daunting in the park where the terrain was open to the ocean breezes. Alas, it was 28C with no wind. We were roasting. There is limited infrastructure in the park, and our 1 Liter of water a piece was dwindling fast. I felt quite exhausted by the time we reached the car where I downed that last of my horded water and blasted the air con. I can imagine on a typical day, the Skyline Trail would be quite chilly.